News - Details

Youth Partner Spotlight | Northport Cow Harbor United Soccer Club

The New York Red Bulls boast one of the strongest youth programs not just in MLS, but across the country. In addition to finding and developing local players that keep the academy teams near the top of the national rankings, the Red Bulls have demonstrated their commitment to the future of youth soccer in New York and New Jersey. The organization maintains partnerships with over 100 youth soccer programs, providing camps, clinics and in-house training from certified and professional Red Bull youth coaches.

Each month, NewYorkRedBulls.com will feature one of these partners in our Red Bulls Youth Partner Program Spotlight.

Northport Cow Harbor United

The Northport Cow Harbor United (NCHU) is the premier travel soccer program servicing Northport, N.Y., and its surrounding areas. The organization is home to several state and regional championship level teams, and takes pride in their player development and attention to consistently challenging players to achieve their full potential.

NCHU is home to 54 teams (Boys & Girls), from ages Under-7 through Under-18. They have 776 players, 132 coaches, team managers, four club officers and five directors. Their goal is to help form the character of players regardless of race, sex, color, creed or national origin. Through the organization and operation of NCHU, the club provides instruction, facilities, and an environment of healthy competition to promote the spirit of sportsmanship and healthy competition among all participants at the highest level of soccer.

NCHU hosts the largest Columbus Weekend Tournamentin the Northeast with over 400 teams from around the Northeastern region and Canada. Through this annual tournament, NCHU proudly supports the Carol M. Baldwin Breast Cancer Research Fund, Inc. with a $25 donation for each accepted team and additional funds raised through the sale of pink socks and donations. Over the past 3 years, NCHU have raised more than $100,000 for this great cause. NCHU also hosts a local, “Turkey Bowl” game on Thanksgiving day which provides much needed food for local food pantries. Later this year the organization plans to add support for the local Relay for Life initiative which provides funds for the American Cancer Society.

The New York Red Bulls have been affiliated with NCHU for two years. The Red Bulls Academy runs its Developmental program and delivers the shared vision of a building block approach to Player Development. Players follow an initial path heavily focused on technique and skill development, and as competency increases, tactical elements are introduced. The New York Red Bulls provide Developmental training, coaching, and run an annual tryout process for NCHU’s developmental teams, ages U-7 to U-11, in addition to running annual Spring and Summer camps.

"Red Bulls Training was hired to run NCHU's (Northport) developmental program in 2013,” President of NCHU David Bozett said. “Previously, Northport's development program was only one session per week. Red Bulls provides Northport the resources and flexibility to offer consistent delivery of high quality training to teams twice a week including games for the top team in the age group."

The partnership provides a consistent and well-defined development approach to NCHU’s program. Younger players are benefiting from the focus on individual technique and skill development, which translates into better quality players. As players progress through the program and onto older teams, they continue to work on elements of preceding stages to ensure they are consistently and simultaneously challenged on both fundamental and advanced levels.

The program continues to evolve along with the breadth of soccer in the NCHU community. Some NCHU products have made the RDS program and the organization notes vast growth in the process of player training.

"Over the past two years, our training partnership with Northport Cow Harbor United Soccer Club has increased by more than 25% the number of players we've been able to impact on a weekly basis,” Red Bulls Academy Regional Manager Jerome Vivona said. “At NCHU, we've found a partner willing to make the tough decisions necessary to create a ‘player centric’ development environment. This commitment will result in a well-rounded, technically confident player base. We look forward to continued success, and already we've seen marked improvement in all areas."